The Department for Work and Pensions define an individual as in persistent poverty if he or she is in relative income poverty in at least 3 out of 4 consecutive years.

1. Persistent Poverty
Financial years 2013 to 2017

2. Persistent poverty (experimental statistics)
• The Department for Work and Pensions define an individual as in persistent
poverty if he or she is in relative income poverty in at least 3 out of 4
consecutive years.
• After paying housing costs, an individual in Wales had a 13 per cent chance
of being in persistent poverty between 2013 and 2017.
• The chance of being in persistent poverty varies by country. In England the
chance was 14 per cent while in Scotland and Northern Ireland it was 11 per
cent.

3. Children and pensioners in persistent poverty
(experimental statistics)
Children
• A child in Wales had a 21 per cent chance of being in persistent poverty
between 2013 and 2017 (after housing costs were paid).
• This was higher than for England, Scotland and Northern Ireland (20, 17 and 15
per cent respectively).
• The chance of a child being in persistent poverty in Wales was the same as the
chance in the North West of England and the West Midlands but lower than the
chance in London, Yorkshire and the Humber and North East of England (29, 25
and 22 per cent respectively). The chance of a child being in persistent poverty
in all other English regions was lower than that seen in Wales.
Pensioners
• A pensioner in Wales between 2013 and 2017 had a 10 per cent chance of
being in persistent poverty (after housing costs were paid).
• This is lower than the chance in England (12 per cent), the same as that seen in
Scotland (10 per cent) and higher than the chance in Northern Ireland (7 per
cent).